Item numbers are used to uniquely identify items that you carry in inventory. This is important both for you, and the systems you use. If you or your system can't uniquely identify an item, you can't effectively account for it's activity and whereabouts within your inventory. Item numbers also serve as a shorthand for longer item descriptions. Instead of entering an entire name or description for an item, you can use a much shorter item number. This speeds up the process of data entry and inventory management.
Thing to consider when deciding on an item numbering scheme
There is no "one way" to create item numbers. It's up to you to decide what works, but the tips below will help you avoid some common mistakes.
Keep them as short as possible, but not so short that they can be easily mistaken for other numbers (i.e. a quantity). 4 - 8 characters will suffice for the vast majority of organization.
Do not load item numbers with meaning - do not try to use the item number to describe your product. This will only make your numbers longer, and more complicated. Save this information for the item description.
Consider using a few letters. Letters will help further distinguish your item numbers from other numbers, and they will greatly increase the number of possible item numbers you can have while keeping the overall item number length as short as possible.
Using a few letters from the beginning of your item description at the beginning of your part numbers will make it much easier to look up items in pick lists. For example, if you were creating an item number for "Sauce, Chocolate" you might create the number "SAU1" , "Sauce, Caramel" - "SAU2" etc...
If you've never used item numbers before, consider using the "auto number" feature of Clearly Inventory's "Quick Entry" inventory tool under the "Getting Started" section of your home page.
